This paper analyzes emotions described by middle-class victims of residence robberies in Rio de Janeiro. The theoretical approach adopted is Catherine Lutz and Lila Abu-Lughod's 'contextualism,' within the anthropology of emotions. This perspective's main focus is the micro-political capacity of emotions, which, embedded in social grammars, are therefore able to dramatize/reinforce/alter the 'macro' features of social organization that give form to interpersonal relations. The data analyzed is a set of in-depth interviews conducted with couples who have been victims of residence robberies. Attitudes they prescribe as 'ideal' or 'effective' in dealing with their victim condition are analyzed in relation to gender identities. The analysis focuses on the forms of "emotional control" described in their narratives, emphasizing the opposition between controlling anger and controlling fear.